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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Potential starters on both sides of the ball are sidelined with a variety of injuries, but that won't stop Alabama from carrying out its typical, ones-versus-ones format at Saturday's A-Day game.

"We have a first-team offense on one team and the second-team defense with them," Alabama coach Nick Saban said after Thursday's practice. "And then we have the first-team defense on another team and the second-team offense together on a team. So the ones play against the ones and the twos play against the twos.

"We're really looking forward to Saturday even though we're going to have some guys who will not be able to participate."

Linebacker Xzavier Dickson (patella), cornerback John Fulton (toe), running back Derrick Henry (leg), wide receiver Kevin Norwood (toe), nose guard Wilson Love (concussion) and linebacker Trey DePriest (foot) won't be able to play in the annual spring scrimmage, Saban said. Additionally, linebacker C.J. Mosley (shoulder), wide receiver DeAndrew White (knee) and running backs Jalston Fowler (knee) and Dee Hart (knee) have worn black, non-contact jerseys throughout the spring and are expected to be limited.

Check out the A-Day rosters

Saban said that all of the injured players are anticipated to be ready for fall camp, including Dickson, who could soon have surgery. Dickson, who had 33 tackles last season, did not participate in last week's scrimmage but had been active at practice this week.

Mosley, Alabama's team MVP in 2012, will "do some things" at A-Day, Saban said.

"We may leave a black jersey on him," Saban said. "Mark Barron played in a spring game in a black jersey a few years ago."

With the clock running non-stop throughout most of the game, there aren't enough plays in it to give equal playing time for the numerous quarterbacks competing for the backup job behind AJ McCarron, Saban said. McCarron (White) and junior Blake Sims (Crimson) will definitely play, he said. Luke Del Rio, Cooper Bateman, Alec Morris and Edward Aldag are all members of the Crimson team while Parker McLeod and Phillip Ely are with McCarron on the White team.

MOBILE -- Not only did freshman Alabama running back Derrick Henry suffer a fractured fibula on Saturday, but Tide coach Nick Saban said Tuesday night that he also had torn ankle ligaments.

"It was right at the end of the scrimmage," Saban said Tuesday, after an appearance in Mobile at the Team Focus benefit dinner. "He just got tackled on a hard tackle. Somebody sort of fell on his foot, the back of his leg. We thought he just had a high ankle sprain, but when they did an X-ray and an MRI he did have a torn ligament -- which was a bad high ankle sprain -- and a small fracture. So we decided the best way to go was to repair it."

Henry, a five-star prospect who set a national high school record for career rushing yards at Yulee (Fla.) High, had surgery to repair the damage on Wednesday and is expected to be ready for fall practice.

"Eight weeks and he'll be back running," Saban said, "and be full-strength by fall camp."

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Alabama football coach Nick Saban discusses the second Saturday scrimmage of the Spring football season. Click on the video above to see what coach Saban had to say!

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the 10th inning on a night when his Atlanta Braves trailed most of the game, Ramiro Pena — proud owner of two career homers in the majors to that point — was looking for one thing.

A fastball down the middle.

And he got one.

"I was just going to concentrate on one pitch, and he threw it right there," Pena said, "and good thing I didn't miss."

Pena hit a two-run homer off Craig Stammen with two outs in the 10th, and the Braves stretched their winning streak to seven games by coming back to beat NL East rival Washington 6-4 Friday night.

BOX SCORE: Braves 6, Nationals 4

"We know the game's not over until we're back in the clubhouse," said Chris Johnson, whose seventh-inning homer off Nationals starter Ross Detwiler began Atlanta's rally from a four-run deficit. "I think there's a deep part of everybody that thinks we are going to come back every time it happens, so it's a good feeling."

Pena, cut by the New York Yankees last September, reached on a bunt as a pinch hitter in the eighth, when the Braves scored once. They added two in the ninth and another two in the 10th against the Nationals' bullpen.

Detwiler has two no-decisions despite a 0.69 ERA, because relievers twice gave up leads.

"We need to do better," said Tyler Clippard, who replaced Detwiler to begin the eighth. "Ross pitched a (terrific) game. It hurts. It hurts, obviously, for the club to get the loss. But it hurts for him. ... To have your starter do what he did and not get the win for him is very, very disappointing for us as a group."

Eric O'Flaherty (2-0) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the win, while Craig Kimbrel retired the heart of Washington's order for his fifth save in five chances.

With one out in the 10th, Stammen (2-1) walked Dan Uggla. After a flyout, Pena hit his first homer of the season to right.

The Braves, a major league-leading 9-1, handed Washington its first loss in seven home games.

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- There are no mulligans in football, but there is redemption.

That's what members of Alabama's offense, defense and special teams will have in mind when they take the field today for their second scrimmage of the spring.

Last week's effort left a bitter taste in the mouths of players on both sides of the field. Alabama coach Nick Saban's post-scrimmage press conference featured phrases such as "lack of mental toughness" and exhibited his overall frustration with how some players handled their spring break.

According to junior safety Vinnie Sunseri, it wasn't just coach-speak.

"As a leadership group we decided that we’re not going to let that slide," he said. "The defense started off really strong and made an impact at the beginning of the scrimmage, and toward the end of the scrimmage we flattened out and the offense definitely stepped up and was able to be explosive toward the end.

"Either way, that’s not acceptable by any Alabama standard. We have to start fast and finish strong like coach Saban says, every single time. As a leader on the defense, I will make sure that we’re not going to let that happen again this time."

With one week to go until A-Day, Alabama will play a more "game-like" scrimmage today at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide is off Sunday and will travel to the White House on Monday before it resumes practice Tuesday.

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – After performing for NFL scouts at Alabama’s second Pro Day of the spring, Damion Square had a quick response when asked if Alabama has prepared him for the next level.

“This is the next level,” said the defensive lineman, who was named one of the Crimson Tide’s three permanent captains in January after the third national championship of his five-year college career.

He grinned.

“No, we have quite a bit of guys go on and play in the National Football League from this place,” Square said. “They know what type of caliber of football we play here at the University of Alabama. The guys that I competed with in the SEC for five years, those are the guys on the next level that I have to compete against. Hopefully it’s the same thing. Everybody just gets a little bit better, and so do I.”

TideNation: 28-year-old freshman walk-on.

Alex Scarborough breaks down the addition of former MLB outfielder Jai Miller to the Alabama secondary and how realistic it is for Miller to see playing time.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- His backpedal has come a long way since the start of spring practice. He is finding rhythm in his footwork, the steps coming back to him like a familiar dance from the past. Jai Miller isn't making music on the football field yet, but he's finding some of the right chords.

Nick Saban looks on. It's the first day of camp in Tuscaloosa, and already he's seeing the tools come together. Miller, his promising if not unorthodox safety, is finding his groove. Everything about him is encouraging: his maturity, his intelligence, his work ethic, his build. This is someone Saban can work with. This is someone who can do the improbable. He can make good on a second chance.

"He's catching on way faster than I did when I first got here," said safety Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix, a rising junior and likely starter for the Tide. "He's catching on and learning very well and picking up and making a big improvement and change in the secondary."

Miller is still finding his way. There are good days and bad, practices where he drops three interceptions and scrimmages where he makes touchdown-saving tackles. He never thought a return to football would be easy, and so far it hasn't been. You don't show up at Alabama and become a star. You work at it and hope you're at your best when your number is called.

Hope is what football represents for Miller -- a chance to have something at the end of a toilsome journey. Alabama is either the end or the beginning for him, the final chapter of a restless athlete's tale or the start of something special.

TUSCALOOSA | University of Alabama coach Nick Saban had high praise for a handful of players following the Crimson Tide's opening scrimmage of the spring Saturday, but the overall message from the seventh-year coach was that not enough members of the entire roster are playing at the necessary level.

"We're not where we'd love to be or would like to be. We've got a lot of work to do. We've got a lot of work to do with a lot of guys. It all starts with guys being able to sustain the kind of mental intensity you need to have to be a good football player, especially when things get a little tough, it gets a little tough, you get a little bit tired," Saban said. "We just don't have the mental toughness we need from enough guys to sustain things, pay attention to detail, and do the little things right so we can execute better as a team."

   
Kenny Bell on Saturday.
Most of those consistency concerns appear to be on the defensive side of the ball. Saban praised quarterback AJ McCarron and several skill-position players on offense.

"Defensively, we had some guys play well, but it's kind of hit and miss right now. We don't have enough guys doing the right things the right way all the time," Saban said.

Saban indicated that some players may not have returned from spring break in ideal condition, a factor which has played a role in some of the struggles he has witnessed on the practice field.

Wide receiver DeAndrew White is competing under non-contact status as he recovers from a knee injury, but the Texas native nevertheless led all receivers Saturday with seven receptions for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Veteran quarterback AJ McCarron was on the passing end of much of that productivity, throwing for 291 yards and four scores for the day.